The envelope, though, hadn't been sealed properly and he lifted it to his mouth to re-lick the gummed edge.

lying useless here in this auld pigg

By longstanding, bipartisan tradition, decades of White House press secretaries have handed down a cheeky symbol of their job fielding rat-a-tat inquiries from feisty reporters: a flak jacket.

One frequently hears the remark: “I’d like to get out of New York,” but those who do move away invariably become disgruntled and unhappy. They long for the things New York has which are peculiarly New Yorkian — things that are difficult to put a finger on, like the lights, the gayety, the bustle, the noise, even the city’s smell.